EBay for Dummies (56 page)

Filing for a final value fee credit

If closing a successful auction is the thrill of victory, finding out that your buyer is a nonpaying bidder, or deadbeat, is the agony of defeat. Adding insult to injury, eBay still charges you a final value fee even if the high bidder never sends you a cent. But you can do something about it. You can file for a final value fee credit.

To qualify for a final value fee credit, you must prove to eBay that one of the following events occurred:

The winning buyer never responded after numerous e-mail contacts.

The winning buyer backed out of the sale.

The winning buyer’s payment did not clear or was never received.

The winning buyer returned the item to you, and you refunded the payment.

If both you and the buyer decide that it’s okay not to go through with the transaction, that’s okay with eBay, too. eBay will allow you to get back your final value fee by going through the refund process. You’ll find an option in the Reason for Refund area that will absolve the buyer of any wrongdoing with eBay’s Unpaid Item police.

The instant you file for a Non-Paying Bidder Alert credit, eBay shoots off an e-mail to the winner of your item (copying you on the e-mail) and warns the eBay user of their nonpaying status.

If at least 7 days and no more than 45 days have elapsed since the end of the auction, you can apply for a full final fee credit. First, however, you must file an Unpaid Item Alert:

1. Go to your My eBay Sold view.

Find the transaction in question on the list of sold items.

2. Click the drop-down menu at the right of the listing and then choose Resolve a Problem.

You’re taken to the Resolution Center.

3. Select the I Sold an Item and Haven’t Received My Payment Yet option and click
Continue.

4. Sign in to your account and enter your user ID and password.

The Report an Unpaid Item Case form appears.

5. Type the item number of the listing in question (if it’s not already there) and then click the Continue button.

6. You’ll be asked to select an issue from a drop-down menu that applies to your situation. Once you do, click Continue.

7. Review everything you’ve entered to be sure it’s correct, and then click Continue.

If you and the buyer mutually agreed not to complete the transaction, when you click Continue, you see the Final Value Fee Credit request page.

After three nonpayment warnings, eBay can boot a deadbeat from the site.

You and your nonpaying buyer now have ten days to work out your problems. If you make no progress after seven days, you may file for your final value fee credit.

You need to wait
at least
seven days after the auction ends to file an Unpaid Item Alert and then seven days before you can apply for a final value fee credit. I think it’s jumping the gun to label someone a nonpaying bidder after only seven days — try to contact the bidder again unless the bidder sends you a message about backing out (or you have good cause to believe you have a deadbeat on your hands). If you still want to file for your final value fee credit after seven days, do the following:

1. On your My eBay page, hover your cursor over the Account tab. When the drop-down menu appears, choose Resolution Center.

You’re taken to the Resolution Center.

2. Under the Your Cases heading, find the transaction in question.

3. Click the View Dispute link under the status column.

You’re now in the area where you may respond to any comments the buyer has left regarding why he or she hasn’t yet paid for your item.

4. Enter your response (if any) to the buyer in the messages area and click Submit Response or to get your final value fee refund, click Close Dispute.

5. Click the Close Dispute button on the bottom of the page.

You’re taken to the Credit Request Process Completed page, which confirms that your refund is being processed by eBay, as shown in Figure 13-6.

When your listing ends, you have up to 45 days after the auction closes to request a credit. After 45 days, kiss your refund goodbye; eBay won’t process it.

Anyone caught applying for a refund on a successful item transaction can be suspended or something worse — after all, this is a clear-cut case of fraud.

If you want to verify eBay’s accounting, grab your calculator and use Table 9-2 in Chapter 9 to check the math. (Why couldn’t I have had one of those in high-school algebra class?)

Always print a copy of any refund and credit requests you make. This paper trail can help bail you out later if eBay asks for documentation.

Déjà vu — relisting your item

Despite all your best efforts, sometimes your auction ends with no bids or bids that are not even close to your reserve price. Or maybe a buyer won your item, but the transaction didn’t go through. eBay takes pity on you and offers you the chance to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again.

The best way to improve your chances of selling a relisted item is by making changes to the listing. eBay says the majority of the items put up for auction should sell. If you sell your item the second time around (in most cases), eBay rewards you with a refund of your insertion fee. You receive your refund after at least one billing cycle. Accept this refund as a reward for learning the ropes.

In the case of an unpaid item, you may (only in this situation) qualify for an insertion fee credit by relisting the item. If the item sells the second time, eBay will refund the insertion fee for relisting.

You
must
only use eBay’s Relist feature to receive the credit. Once the item is filed as a unpaid, you can use the Relist link on the unpaid item page or do the following:

1. Go to your My eBay page.

2. On the left side of the page in the Selling area, click the Sold link.

You arrive at the page without Sold Listings. You will be able to find the unpaid item because it’s specially marked. See Figure 13-7 for an example.